wonder
noun
a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration,
caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.
Sharing joy. Now there's something I can absolutely be on board with. There are few things more contagious than a smile - so I make a point to lock eyes with the people I pass on the sidewalk and send a little Christmas cheer their way. (Note: this is especially delightful to do in crowded shopping malls 4 days before Christmas).
But...creating wonder? Is wonder really something that can be created? Can it be manufactured? Is there a magical recipe - a combination of specific ingredients that will produce a sense of awe? And can it really be found in a cup of coffee??
Wonder. It's a word that gets thrown around a lot this time of year. We hear it in Christmas carols: Star of wonder, star of light....wonders of His love. We see it in the faces of children, as the anticipation builds and they cannot contain their excitement. Just last night, my mom and I turned on The Polar Express as we sat wrapping presents by the fire - and I was reminded again of how childlike innocence so often breeds wonder.
I love the moment when the little boy hears the bells ringing for the first time. He has finally crossed the threshold of belief and is free to experience the wonderful and magical world of a Christmas with Santa Claus. He takes the risk; he makes the choice to believe - to welcome in the wonder.
As we get older, most of us gradually lose our innocence and openness, falling into the clutches of intellectualism and rationalism. We hold ever-so-fiercely to our illusion of being in control, and life becomes about doing, getting, producing...acquiring the tangibles that will supposedly make us happy. And when those don't satisfy, we attempt to manufacture the intangibles.
Creating them for ourselves is, of course, much, much safer.
Creating them for ourselves is, of course, much, much safer.
Because the reality is: we're scared.
We are afraid of being surprised. We are perturbed by the inexplicable. We are terrified of the unfamiliar. We are petrified by the unexpected.
And so we close the door to our experience of wonder. We don't want to feel the vulnerability of being out of control. We don't want to be reminded of all we do not know or understand. We don't want to extend an invitation to the unknown, the surprising, the unexpected. We don't want to have to welcome something in that might inspire, even force us to...change.
So I am opening my heart to the unexpected, in this season of Advent. I am finding comfort in the mystery. I am seeking beauty in the invisible. I am creating space for surprises. I am throwing out my definitions, my explanations, my plans. I am making the choice to believe, and allowing the believing to have its way in me. I am welcoming the wonder.
Welcome, all wonders in one sight!
Eternity shut in one span,
Summer in winter, day in night,
Heaven in earth, and God in man,
Great Little One, whose all-embracing birth
Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth.
